Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Paging Steve Perry . . .

I've been beating myself up a bit lately for not talking more about music in the blog. Mostly, I don't know anything about music after, say, 1996. But it feels like if I'm going to talk LA, I should talk about it's music scene, too.

I'm not doing that today, either. But there will be a soundtrack.

Ahem. Hold on, I'm waiting for the CD to cue up . . .

Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely worldShe took the midnight train goin' anywhereJust a city boy, born and raised in south DetroitHe took the midnight train goin' anywhere

I learned this morning that the World Series bound Chicago White Sox, who last won a World Series before my wife's grandmother was born, and who have fewer fans out there than Ashlee Simpson at a DMX concert, have adopted a theme song for their post season. It is, in fact, Journey's "Don't Stop Believing".

More to the point, during the series, they have asked former Journey frontman Steve Perry (who may or may not still be suing the other members of the band) to come to the clubhouse and meet with the team for inspiration.

A singer in a smokey roomA smell of wine and cheap perfumeFor a smile they can share the nightIt goes on and on and on and on

All things considered, it's not a bad song for this baseball team. No song brings a Generation Xer like me back to his or her youth like this one. All I have to hear are a few synthesized chords, and I am transported back to the middle school years. Baseball is all about the past remembered, and the song does that in spades.

Plus, more than a few of the South Siders I've met in my day smell of wine and cheap perfume.

Sorry, cheap joke.

Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevardTheir shadows searching in the nightStreetlight people, living just to find emotionHiding, somewhere in the night

The one bummer that I can find in the whole theme song selection is this. Probably the closest thing to a celebrity fan that the White Sox have is former Styx front man Dennis DeYoung. Woof.

OK, cut out the laughing. Imagine being Mr. DeYoung. You were part of an 80s/90s pop synthesizer band, too. You had hit songs, too. Now you go to the games each year, and for payback, your beloved Sox have chosen a song by a rival band? A rival band from the Bay Area? A rival band from the Bay Area that still tours without its former lead singer and plays venues like the Virginia Beach Rock n Roll Half Marathon? A rival band from the Bay Area that . . . well, you get the picture.

Working hard to get my fill,everybody wants a thrillPayin' anything to roll the dice,just one more time

On the other hand, if I'm the Sox, what Styx song do I choose? Honestly. For those of you who barely remember Styx, or don't remember which band was Styx and which was Rush (and who can blame you?), Mr. DeYoung's band had hits that included, "Lady", "Come Sail Away", and "Mr. Roboto". Oh, and "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man Song)".

Nope, not a winning theme song among them. Perhaps the Sox chose wisely after all. Whatever. If it helps them win a series, I'm all for it.

Some will win, some will loseSome were born to sing the bluesOh, the movie never endsIt goes on and on and on and on